Hi all,
I was looking for some input regarding some major repairs that are about to be done on my Accord. I've got a 2008 EX-L Coupe with about 55,000 miles on it and I recently noticed that it was using up oil pretty quickly. I was having to add about a quart of oil every other time I filled up the gas tank. So I took it to Honda and they confirmed that the engine was burning oil somewhat quickly, but it wasn't so bad that it was producing smoke in the exhaust. Anyway, I'm taking it in on Monday so they can do a short block replacement (thank God it's still under warranty). From what I can gather, this equates to replacing most of the engine. I'm worried though about having such a major repair on a relatively new car and I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice or input about the situation. I'm specifically wondering if this will last as long as a factory built engine and how I should handle preventive maintenance. My understanding is that the factory engine came filled with some sort of special "break-in" oil, should this be true following the replacement as well? Anything anyone is willing to offer would be greatly appreciated, and please mention anything you think I should be aware of that I didn't state previously. Thanks guys!

Insist on new coolant and a new thermostat, otherwise they will save/re-use as much as they can and re-use it. Even if you had to pay for the coolant and stat.

Treat it as you would a new car, vary engine speeds and loads, no heavy throttle for the first few hundred miles. Wait at least 5,000 miles to do an oil change, but check it at least weekly in the mean time.

I'd also ask if the catalyst(s) warranty will be extended xxx number of miles due to the oil contamination. An engine using a lot of oil can cause premature catalyst failure.

Well it just happened to us at 62,000 miles... New block to be installed along with whatever else is needed... What I want to know is the difference in this replacement compared to existing that failed? Anyone know???

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fredsvt

As long as the tech doing the replacement is good, you should have no issues. A repair like that won't go to the lowest guy on the totem pole, so to speak.

It'll probably be filled with Honda's bulk 5w20 that the dealer stocks.

It should last just as long, as Honda, as far as I'm aware doesn't use rebuilt short blocks, it'll be a new assembly, block, crank, rods, pistons.

Insist on new coolant and a new thermostat, otherwise they will save/re-use as much as they can and re-use it. Even if you had to pay for the coolant and stat.

Treat it as you would a new car, vary engine speeds and loads, no heavy throttle for the first few hundred miles. Wait at least 5,000 miles to do an oil change, but check it at least weekly in the mean time.

I'd also ask if the catalyst(s) warranty will be extended xxx number of miles due to the oil contamination. An engine using a lot of oil can cause premature catalyst failure.

A quiet word of advice.
I hope they put running in oil in the new engine and not full synthetc, and intend a new 1000mile oil change.

I gather you have an auto.
In the first few hundred miles, use the manual mode of the gearbox as much as you can and try to keep the revs over 2000, especially in the higher gears.
Don't be afraid to use the revs in the mid range.

The auto box tends to hold higher gears at under 2000 revs on slight inclines which is very bad for these engines, especially in the break in period.
If you want your new oil rings to bed in properly and not glaze your new bores make sure you don't lug the engine.
You'll end up with a long lasting and better performing engine.

Good morning. So about your post. I used full synthetic (Castrol) 5w-20 from the time we bought it at 10,000 miles back in '09. I have always changed the oil between 4500-5000 miles. So you're saying to not use full synthetic during breakin, but what about after am I able to switch back to what I used?

Anyone else out here had their short block replaced to fix this issue with oil consumption and fouling of plugs? Any issues after that? Did you do the water pump and belts while this was being done? It's usually due at 105,000 anyway and we have 62,000. I'm leaning to do it now because if I don't it's $750 for the entire job at 105,000 vs only $269 right now while they have the engine out.

Thoughts...?

Quote:

Originally Posted by MADART

A quiet word of advice.
I hope they put running in oil in the new engine and not full synthetc, and intend a new 1000mile oil change.

I gather you have an auto.
In the first few hundred miles, use the manual mode of the gearbox as much as you can and try to keep the revs over 2000, especially in the higher gears.
Don't be afraid to use the revs in the mid range.

The auto box tends to hold higher gears at under 2000 revs on slight inclines which is very bad for these engines, especially in the break in period.
If you want your new oil rings to bed in properly and not glaze your new bores make sure you don't lug the engine.
You'll end up with a long lasting and better performing engine.

Thank you for the posting. It helps relax my anxiety on this major operation to my wife's car.
I'm going through with the belt replacements and water pump for $269. If I wait it will cost me an extra $500 to have them access the area again.
WOW. Yours was replaced at 37K, man that's early. I wonder why Honda has not recalled this. I noticed there was only a TSB out there, but nothing else.

Quote:

Originally Posted by poorboyaccord

iv had my engine replaced at 37k miles do to oil consumption, i now have 44k miles on the car, since then i have not add a single drop of oil or havnt had a single issue with the car.

I think that's great that you're getting the short block replaced, this is a lot of work but should be fine since they're not working on the head. Plus you'll get all new gaskets... someone mentioned coolant, i don't know how they wouldnt replace this anyway.

So I wonder what will happen to those that have not had this done yet? I heard it's for v6 Accords from '08-'11 based on other forums. Is it certain dates the engine was made, etc? How is one to tell if their car is going to need to have this done? Just wait for it to **** up oil and foul plugs? There are so many v6 Accords on the road and each one I pass by I often feel the need to mention what has been done to ours. I hope honda does not stick any owner past warranty with this bill. Mine was under extended warranty, but they gave Honda a hard time on this, so Honda said we'll cover under standard powertrain warranty.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spoolme

I think that's great that you're getting the short block replaced, this is a lot of work but should be fine since they're not working on the head. Plus you'll get all new gaskets... someone mentioned coolant, i don't know how they wouldnt replace this anyway.

Thank you for the posting. It helps relax my anxiety on this major operation to my wife's car.
I'm going through with the belt replacements and water pump for $269. If I wait it will cost me an extra $500 to have them access the area again.
WOW. Yours was replaced at 37K, man that's early. I wonder why Honda has not recalled this. I noticed there was only a TSB out there, but nothing else.

Remember a recall is only issued if there is a safety concern/failure. It is unacceptable for this to be happening at such low mileage I agree, but not a safety issue.

Good morning. So about your post. I used full synthetic (Castrol) 5w-20 from the time we bought it at 10,000 miles back in '09. I have always changed the oil between 4500-5000 miles. So you're saying to not use full synthetic during breakin, but what about after am I able to switch back to what I used?

Anyone else out here had their short block replaced to fix this issue with oil consumption and fouling of plugs? Any issues after that? Did you do the water pump and belts while this was being done? It's usually due at 105,000 anyway and we have 62,000. I'm leaning to do it now because if I don't it's $750 for the entire job at 105,000 vs only $269 right now while they have the engine out.

Thoughts...?

Hi. Yes you can switch back to full synthetic after the first oil change. Full synthetic is the go, but it's pretty well known that it's not good at break in.
I have a feeling many dealers do the wrong thing here just because they don't bother carrying the right product.
Your engine should be treated as new.
Lugging the engine at low revs during break in along with the use of synthetic can easily cause bore glazing (a hard glassy coating of oils and fuel build up on the cylinder walls. This happens very quickly and the oil rings will not seat on this surface.
The compression rings will seat, giving a normal compression reading, but oil will continue to leak past the oil rings until the cylinders are deglazed.

The prognosis is oil consumption issues and wet plugs.

The inconsistency in this problem between cars of the same model indicates to me that it's more about the way the car is used rather than the engine itself. Modern close tollerance engines, especially high revving ones with the torque peak further up the rev band don't respond well to 'babying' in their first break in period. The throttle needs to be used as do the revs to keep the engine in it's 'happy place' where there is less stress on it.
Honda is not without blame here if it advises to use low revs during break in, and the auto box itself is a culprit in that it's programmed to hold too high a gear at too low revs. It's better for these engines to be given a bit of a thrashing than to lug them.

Thank you for the posting. It helps relax my anxiety on this major operation to my wife's car.
I'm going through with the belt replacements and water pump for $269. If I wait it will cost me an extra $500 to have them access the area again.
WOW. Yours was replaced at 37K, man that's early. I wonder why Honda has not recalled this. I noticed there was only a TSB out there, but nothing else.

i guess they got tired of comin to dealer for the same issue since everything else failed, my car was clearly consuming 1/2qt every 1k miles.

It stinks that I am coming across this thread now.. I have had extremely bad oil consumption problems on my car for a long time. Whenever I did searches in here, I only came across "honda says it is normal to burn 1 qt every 1,000 miles" and never even bothered bringing it up with my dealer and just kept an eye on my oil consumption and added as needed.. especially since a time I had an oil change around 30k miles and my mechanic told me I barely had any oil in the engine and a few hundred more miles like that would have ruined my engine.

But now I am at 66k miles...
I wonder if Honda will do anything if I bring it to them.. how much could this cost without warranty?

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